Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday asked the Congress-led Punjab Government to release Dearness Allowance (DA) of the State Government employees which was due since January 2017, within one week. Besides, the Akali Dal demanded from the Government to disburse their salaries for this month by October 26, in view of the Diwali festivities.

“It is shocking that the Punjab Government was refusing to release DA arrears to employees and owed them more than Rs 5,000 crore in arrears. In direct contrast, the Central Government had announced a five percent increase in Dearness and Relief allowances from July 1 this year giving an additional Rs 16,000 crore to 50 lakh central government employees and pensioners,” said the former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal.

“The Punjab Government should also hike DA allowance by five percent from July this year on the central pattern and release arrears,” he added.

Asking the Congress Government to take these steps immediately, Grewal said that the employees were forced to observe a Black Diwali last year. “They should be given arrears due to them this year before Diwali,” he said.

Akali leader also demanded that the report of the sixth Pay Commission should be submitted immediately and the same should be implemented as quickly as possible.

The Akali leader also demanded that 27,000 contractual employees should be regularised and that the government should put a stop to the practice of keeping new recruits on probation for three years by paying them basic pay only.